Propositions of Mentions
There was a large room and in it had many expensive-looking items. Over the very center of the room hung a chandelier which was used to light the entire room. On the table of the room sat a logo of a dragon. On one side of the table sat a dark-skinned man draped in an all black kimono with a white puff-sleeveless coat over it. His shaded glasses hid his eyes behind the lenses as he played in his hair with one of his hands. Behind him stood a man dressed in a tight fitted button-down white shirt and fitted black slacks with his coat hanging off his shoulders. Reaching into his pocket, he drew a cigarette and lit it with his lighter. Though this man had mostly been hidden from the outside world, the silver-haired man sitting across from them would know him well. Former member of CP-O--Sandlewood Ashton. Finally sparking a light to his smoke, Ashton blew a bit of it out from a small gap between his lips. The dark-skinned man broke the silence, he knew that this meeting could potentially be long and he needed to get to his points as soon as possible. "Good evening, Kurama." The man began, greeting who was clearly the leader of the current era of Marines the highly-famed and feared Fleet-Admiral. He smiled everso lightly while giving Kurama his full attention. "Sorry to have called you here." He said, bringing his left thumb up to his cheek and wiping across it as though he had leftover food there. "How've you been. Been a while since we were able to meet in such an enclosed setting, last time was when you took Solomon to train him with his devil fruit." Shaking his head, "No, I'm sorry. I'll get straight into the nit and grit." Saint Marlon said. Pulling the piece of paper out in front of him over the table, he slid his hand across it quickly skimming over it. "The numbers of the Xros Pirates army dwarf the Marines' current number. They have over a million soldiers, Kurama. That's one to hundred, Marine to Xros. How will you deal with this?" Meanwhile, Ashton had been fondling with thoughts that plagued his mind. "Hmm, it seems the Gorosei really do have the power to virtually do what they want. I didn't think he'd be able to get Kurama to come the same day he was called." Kurama silently sat at the adjacent side of the table, arms crossed against his torso as he was dressed in his usual black kimono, though given the secrecy behind this meeting, he forwent wearing his Fleet Admiral coat. His eyes fell onto the World Noble that addressed him, taking mere seconds to take in what he explained; it was information on the coming war that he knew well enough. Without hesitation, Kurama was quick to answer him. "What matters is the quality of strength, not its volume. Even if we are outnumbered, we are driven by a singular mission. We are not like the pirates who fight for scattered individualistic ideals. Where there is separation of powers in their ranks, there is a strength in unity in ours. That said, I am fully aware of the disparity in military strength." the Fleet Admiral responded, yet despite his admission of inadequacy, his confidence remained unwavered in his tone of voice. He spoke like a civil servant who wished for nothing more than to serve his nation, but the bare truth of it was, Kurama was face-to-face with a man he fully intended to murder. Not just him, but all of the World Nobles. Along with those Gorosei he so despised. Though it was a truth known only to his inner circle, and even among them in differing levels of veracity, the Fleet Admiral was making strides to seize full control over the World Government; akin to imposing martial law and turning the allied kingdoms of the world into a unified police state directly governed by the Marines. However, to realize that ideal, he had to make slow and steady steps toward that path while maintaining the support of those he served underneath. Namely, the Commander in Chief, the Gorosei, and the World Nobles; all of whom were, as Kurama would say, on borrowed time, awaiting the day they would be executed by the Fleet Admiral personally. But he was still far from that goal. First, he had to address the immediate threat; that being the movements of the Yonko as of late, and the upcoming 'World War X' that threatened to consume the entire world. "I can't imagine you called me here solely to discuss my war strategies. If you are aware of our situation, then I can only reason that you intend to offer us some sort of aid. Is that correct?" Kurama spoke bluntly. Even in the face of a man who controlled whether or not he would maintain his position as Fleet-Admiral, he told him how it was and how it would be. Opening his legs under the table, Marlon flipped it to the other side of the room in a single effort. "You make me feel as though I can open up and be myself a little more, Kurama!" Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his knees and interlocked his fingers as though he'd been thinking of a master plan of sorts, but he had not. In fact, Kurama's assumption of Marlon's offer to aid had been correct. "Whether we have the advantage as far as strength is concerned, means nothing if our soldiers see the enemy fleet and lose will to their outnumbering. War is not only a physical game, but it's also one of mental strength as well. But you know that and probably have a fix for it." Stopping, Marlon rubbed his hands like a greedy money-grabbing lunatic. "Yes, Kurama. I believe that our soldiers are stronger, but the public's view on this must know in their hearts that we are fighting a war that will lead to our victory. They are not war veterans like yourself, they don't know about the stronger to populus concept. To them numbers equal strength and we need a fix for that. I've been developing this for quite some time now and luckily, it's right on time for the war." Pausing, Marlon looked over his shoulder and called out. "Come in!" As he spoke those two words, the double doors of the room flung open and a man well over eight feet walked through it and approached Marlon at his side. The man wore a , but it was dark green in color with red buttons. He had stripe green pants on with a white collared shirt under it. Over his back was the same signature coat that Marines of higher ranking wore but instead of white it was the same dark green as his suit. His shoulder straps were red and gold, changing the look of what the original Marines coat looked like to something completely new. To top his look off, a green hat that possessed four letters written on it. "Yes, Kurama. I have a group of my own I would like to propose; as you can see by what's written on his hat... I'm proposing my newly formed Army." Ashton held his cigarette smoke in for a moment, though it was "news" to Kurama, Ashton knew of its creation long ago. '"The actually militia that is the army had begun its creation five years ago, sure. But... the Delta Force is what started all of that and that was eight years ago, the same time when I killed Buster D. Amaka. It's nice to see it being announced now though, now to see how it'll impact the world." "The Marines are the World Government's sea force, correct? Well, the Army is the World Government's military land force. In the span of five years I've managed to set in place over one hundred bases at which they operate and twenty of them dedicated to the sole purpose of training Army soldiers for the future. We are currently outnumbered by the Marines with a measly 500,000 soldiers but it's just like you said, strength is not in numbers." Holding his hand out at the man who'd just appeared, Marlon continued on, "This here is Wallace Gerald, the current Sergeant Major of the Army and the highest enlisted rank soldier." He introduced the man to Kurama with not only confidence but high regard. "In comparison to the Marines he'd be the quote on quote," the Gorosei member held his fingers up to quote the air, "Equivalent of the Fleet-Admiral. Take that not as an insult, but as a scale to use and determine just how hard we've been working on this. We have a working rank system and even weapons that had been worked on by my own personal scientist Frank N. Stein, that will be fully usable in this war." Pausing, he leaned back in his seat. "Why am I telling you this. I don't know, Kurama. Maybe to build a positive relationship between the groups, I without a doubt would deem this group as a Great Power and asset to the World as a whole. Even though I can easily force the Marines into an alliance with this group, I'd rather ask you if you'd be willing to accept them as brothers-in-arms for this War. We can NOT afford to lose this, Kurama." Silently absorbing the revelations being touted to him, Kurama simply responded with a soft smile, before focusing his eyes on Marlon. "I see. You have certainly been busy. But..." That gentle expression quickly darkened, a chilling feeling descended upon the room like the first shivering signs of winter. "...don't you think you're being a bit too hasty, Gorosei?" he mused with a deepened tone of voice, addressing Marlon by his position. Standing from his seat, the Fleet Admiral took a couple steps toward Wallace, yet maintained a considerable distance; his eyes fell upon him as though he were gauging the man, as though he were staring deep into his soul to uncover everything about him, everything that made that man what he is today, before tearing away from the gaze and once more looking toward Marlon. "It is in my ideal to pool together strength, that is what the world needs in order to gravitate toward peace. So of course, I will accept their admittance into my ranks." he explained, taking a slow stride toward the Gorosei member. "Oh? Does my wording confuse you? It is exactly as I said." the Fleet Admiral spoke, his hands along the back of a chair as he stared down at Marlon, as though he were a tiger eyeing a rabbit. "My ranks. The strength of our military lies in its unity. The moment we act as individual agents, we have already lost. Therefore, it is not an alliance of two independent forces, but a joining of ranks that is required. I am happy to take your 'Army' in as part of my Marines, but that's what it is. Make no mistake. There will be no alliance. Of course, you can force me to do as you please, but..." Kurama continued, his lips curling into a smile that exemplified malicious intent. "I cannot guarantee that your troops won't be sent into a hopeless situation where they might die a meaningless death. These things happen, it's just the nature of war, after all. Not to mention, even if they've been trained and even if they have set up land bases, it does not mean they can take to the seas to deal with the Yonko. That falls on us Marines. In other words, your 'Army' is at the complete mercy of the Marines, and is only as effective as the Marines are in protecting the ships that allow your soldiers to be dropped into the battlefield. But there's a bright side to what I'm saying." the Fleet Admiral proclaimed, taking a couple steps closer, placing a hand along the edge of the chair where Marlon sat. "You could allow your pride to get in the way, and force me to do things your way, but ask yourself, would that really work out nicely for you? If your 'Army' were to suffer a humiliating defeat, as their own independent power no less, then it would reflect poorly on you Gorosei. After all, it is 'your project'. And if the others were to know that they could shift the blame from them onto you, do you really think the other Gorosei wouldn't turn on you at the drop of a hat to protect their interests? If all we have is an alliance, I cannot be expected to worry every time they do something incredibly... stupid. I can't ask my men to risk their own lives for a group that has their own agenda, even if the end goal is the same. But if you were to hand them over to me, and allowed me to integrate them into my ranks under my command, well... then all the responsibility shifts to me, isn't that right? Even if things don't work out well, the people are unlikely to lose faith in you Gorosei. Your hands will be clean in all of this. I daresay that's a wonderful charity I'm offering, and in turn, your soldiers will have the honor of being a part of victory when I defeat the Yonko. I call that a win-win. But..." Kurama walked past Marlon's chair and moved toward the corner of the table, leaning his back subtly against it as he turned to face the Gorosei member head-on. "You Gorosei will finally be rid of the meddlesome pirates, and also help yourselves to their amassed wealth and resources, not to mention their lands. Your 'Army' project will succeed in assisting the Marines in a glorious victory. The World Government becomes a shining pillar of justice throughout the world. But... What do I have to gain from all this? Surely, if we win, the rewards are great. But if we fail? Well... all the blame falls on me, as the military leader. You would be asking a great deal of risk on my part. And I would like some insurance from you Gorosei that will make me more satisfied in agreeing to this merger." the Fleet Admiral continued his talk, leaning closer to the table as he placed his right hand down upon it. "My condition is this: I want the Gorosei to transfer full command of the Shichibukai over to me until 'World War X' is over. In doing so, this means my authority, for that time anyways, will supersede any orders given by Charter Spring as well as any orders given by you Gorosei. It will be my insurance in exchange for me taking on such a large risk by standing as the public face of the war against the Yonko. After all, we all want to win, but in taking on this risk, I have far more to lose than anybody else. I daresay that's a fair trade." Kurama added, concluding his negotiation. "Oh?" Marlon asked, eyebrows lifting as his questioned all that Kurama said. He spanned from one point of his conversation to the other end of it. The more he babbled on the more Marlon began to understand just what it was Kurama had been after. He could see it now. From the way the fox acted to the way he spoke, each word he meant to live by even if it meant the cost of his life or position. "I see." He thought to himself, still breaking down and dissecting Kurama's beliefs. "He wants everything bent under his finger at the beckoning of his call. That is not something that will be beneficial in the long run." Finally, he laughed. The ebony dragon couldn't help but it. But it wasn't at Kurama. It was at what he deduced and Ashton had been pretty much in parallel with understanding what Kurama had been hoping to get at. "I can't abide by that first request Kurama. Our goal isn't to make them apart of anything specifically. Too early in development to even say I want them to be any face like the Marines are just yet. Maybe that matter can be discussed at a later date, hm? Baby steps, right foot then left. I think we're both being a bit too hasty, no? I'm speaking on dreams, I need to see, how they will perform and this war is the perfect opportunity." Among this all, Gerald stood tall and remained quiet. Even as Kurama approached him, he remained in his position and didn't budge a bit. He had self-control and there was no reason to act rational, even if he didn't like people in his personal space. "You want control over the Shichibukai even to the point that we can not step in?" Marlon lifted his arm and looked at his watch, "I can and can't do that. Control over the Shichibukai granted. Where we can not step in, denied? Listen, as far as I'm concerned, you could throw them all off the face of the planet and I would not complain, but there are four others who would still need their input over this. Will I stay out of your way with the Warlords, yes. I'll probably be able to convince the others to allow it since it was our forefathers who abolished it in the past." "Saint Marlon," Gerald finally spoke, his voice much deeper and denser than both. "Listen to what he asked. He said until the war is over. What are the other Gorosei gonna' do cause you said yes, kill you? It ain't fair trade if you ask me, but the fuck do those Pirates gotta' have that's sacred to y'all?" Gerald's face dropped a little so that his eyes could meet Kurama's own. He was six foot and Gerald was eight and with the Sergeant's size that dwarfed Kurama's own, he showed him that there was no fear in his heart whatsoever. He was a man who just like Kurama, had fought plenty of battles and in wars of his own, he would not let anyone no matter who it was, see him stand down. "He better than me, not gonna' lie." Gerald continued on, hands moving into his pockets. "He asked for command of 'em, I would've asked to kill 'em." "Very well then, Kurama.. They're all yours." Kurama's face exhibited a look of appeasement, characterized by his wicked yet composed smile. "That's good to hear. After all, what need do you noble Gorosei have for a bunch of rowdy pirates anyways. If anything, it's less of a gain for me, and more of benefit to you." the Fleet Admiral mused, walking back toward his seat before sitting down and once more facing the Gorosei member. "In regards to your Army, it is your project after all. But handing them over to me, I can provide them with the proper training before they step out into battle. I'm sure your..." Kurama paused, drifting his eyes toward Gerald. "...friend over here is certainly a noble and powerful soldier. And I am sure he has provided your troops with considerable training. But I think you and I both know the benefit your troops can achieve by being trained under me and the people within my innermost circle. After all, I trust you've heard of their exploits, such as Sparrow Raizen capturing that Okama pirate captain not too long ago. Beyond that, if your Army and my Marines are to work together, don't you think it'd be wise for them to undergo joint training sessions to build up a sense of camaraderie and trust? Just something for you to ponder, is all." the Fleet Admiral added with his usual smirk. "That said, I appreciate your agreement with my proposal, but I'm afraid I must insist on one last condition to our deal. Rest assured, this is less for my benefit, and more so for the benefit of the World Government as a whole." Kurama changed course, bringing up another proposal. "I am not sure if you are already aware of this development, but there is an effort to pool together warriors from the allied kingdoms of the world into a regiment that will fight alongside the marines in the upcoming World War X. It will certainly help to shore up our numbers, as you so mentioned as being an issue needing rectifying, but in doing so, this will leave many of the kingdoms, if not all of them, vulnerable to potential attack. It would be absolutely humiliating and horrifying should the Revolutionary Army decide to invade those unprotected kingdoms while we are off fighting the Yonko." the Fleet Admiral remarked, placing a hand along the table in front of him, tapping against its wooden surface. "Therefore, as part of my agreement here, I will take command of the Shichibukai for the course of this war, and in addition, I want you and the Gorosei to split up Cipher Pol to all corners of the allied nations to protect them from potential invaders until this conflict is resolved. After all, we wouldn't want to lose the faith of the people and think we have abandoned them, would we? I hope you will agree to this condition, Saint Marlon." Kurama then retracted his hand, crossing his arms against his chest once more before concluding his thoughts. "You have a sharp ear, Kurama." Marlon stated, smirking at the information that Kurama provided him. "The allied Kingdoms giving soldiers to the World Government is indeed what makes up my current Army. It is the result of my Army." He said, flicking his wrist at Gerald in the same manner that Kurama had once done. "Wallace was he who stood at the top both academically and physically during his training shooting to the almost top rank. However, I don't think is anything that we can lose from allowing people to train alongside them as well." Sighing, Marlon stretched his arms. "You sure ask a lot of someone who's stepping down, Kurama. I'll be sure to pass this along to the Elders, but this is my final stand. I will grant your condition on the account of not having the people lose faith that they won't have any protection during this war, you have my word." "It may seem like a lot, but it's all for the sake of the World Government, Saint Marlon." Kurama mused, the wording seemed innocent enough yet the tone with which it was spoken left a lot to wonder as to what the meaning behind that statement was. "At any rate, it seems that we've reached an accord, correct? I cannot imagine the Gorosei would be that opposed to allowing me to lead the Shichibukai during this conflict, and even more so toward splitting up the Cipher Pol in order to keep the allied kingdoms safeguarded during all of this. It's all for the sake of peace, I assure you." Leaning back against his chair, Kurama tilted his head upwards a bit, widening his smile some. "Is that all for our little meeting, or is there anything else you wished to discuss with me?" Category:Role-Plays